By Evie Beale

Sports Editor

    At R.J. Reynolds High School, the boys lacrosse team has won the Conference championship every season since 2015. This long-term success reflects the length of their off-season. Starting just the second week of the school year, the team begins a rigorous preseason journey focused on fitness, team bonding, and hard work.

    This hard work and dedication are done in hopes of the team having an amazing season. This year, they have their eyes set on success.

    “We are more focused on the new conference and how we’re going to stack up against better competition,” Senior Captain Briggs Brown said. “And we’re hoping this year we’ll continue the trend of conference champions in a new conference and set a good standard for future Reynolds teams.”

    In hopes of achieving these goals, the team put in months of work, set to prepare the boys for their future games and opponents. They lift four times a week and some Saturday mornings, especially once the official season has kicked off. 

    “It is definitely the difference maker in our team,” junior Hugh Fitzgerald said. “When we play big teams, one thing we control is how strong, diligent, and disciplined we are, and that all comes from preseason.”

    The team bonds together through their long hours of hard work. The workouts encourage team unity as they are forced to push through the pain. This bond is exemplified on and off the field.

    “What’s contributed most to our success is our team building because we do a lot of team chemistry building, like eating breakfast with the whole team and getting to know each other, and I feel like that gets us really far,” junior Henry Jamison said.

    Coach Scott and Coach Redmond guide the workouts and lifting sessions during the preseason. 

     “The coaches that run the preseason for us are usually Coach Scott—our workout coach—and then Coach Redmond; he helps us with our stick skills, improving our shooting, passing, and ball-handling skills,” sophomore Dashiell Hosey said.

    While lots of work is put in place for the team to develop, they also have talented players who have joined the team, ready to give it their all. 

    “We have the most potential that we have had in a long time,” Brown said. “Our eyes are set on a state championship. We have a lot of work to do, but it’s definitely within reach, more so than it has been in years prior.”

    The boys drive to push to their limits is undeniable. Their work ethic is a result of their passion and love for the game.

    “We know that our hard work helps us beat other teams, and it motivates us that we are out there on Saturday mornings and every day after school,” Brown said.

   The captains are a huge influence on the attendance of the team at workouts, trying to push their teammates to show up for one another. Since preseason is technically optional, coaches can’t require attendance.

    “We try to get on people that aren’t showing up,” Brown said. “And make sure that everyone sends in a valid excuse if they can’t make it. The captains pretty much make [preseason] mandatory.”

    As the season progresses the team plans to continue to work hard through practices and continue their bond on and off the field, along with pushing each other in games in order to achieve positive results.